Print

Mail

wiki links

Sports Briefs

■ Soccer
Edgar thrilled with debut
David Edgar, a Canadian under-20 international, admitted that he "lived a dream" when he marked his home debut for Newcastle United with the goal that earned them a 2-2 draw against Manchester United at St James' Park. Edgar was only playing because Nicky Butt joined Newcastle's long injury list with an ankle problem two hours before the kick-off and does not even feature among the 29 senior players listed in their match program. But he seized his unexpected opportunity in style with the 73rd minute goal that prevented Manchester United going nine points clear of Chelsea at the top of the Premiership.

■ Soccer
Antti Niemi discharged
Fulham goalkeeper Antti Niemi was discharged from hospital on Monday after being cleared of any spinal damage in a neck injury suffered in their 0-0 Premier League draw at home to Watford. The Finland international had flipped in the air while attempting a clearance and landed heavily on his head, nine minutes into the second half at Craven Cottage. He was taken to hospital and Fulham later issued a statement. Niemi was released from hospital and was not in a neck brace, the club said, adding he "will undergo further investigations over the next few days, after which a full prognosis will be issued."

■ Tennis
Marcos Baghdatis advances
Third seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus defeated German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 7-5 to move into the second round of the US$1 million Qatar Open on Monday. Fourth seed Briton Andy Murray, fifth seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia and sixth seed Robin Soderling of Sweden also progressed into the second round. Murray, who lost the first set, rallied to down Italian Filippo Volandri 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, while Youzhny edged past Daniele Bracciali of Italy 7-5, 6-3. Soderling posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Belgium's Kristof Vliegen.

■ Tennis
Malisse outplays Danai
Third-seeded Xavier Malisse of Belgium outplayed Asian Games gold medalist Danai Udomchoke of Thailand 6-2, 6-2 on Monday in the opening round of the ATP Tour's Chennai Open in India. Fourth-seeded Julien Benneteau and eighth-seeded Nicolas Mahut, both from France, launched their new season with straight-set victories. Benneteau outplayed Russia's Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-4 and Mahut overcame Alejandro Falla of Colombia 7-5, 6-4. In other first-round contests, Italian Stefano Galvani defeated Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan 6-2, 6-3, Kevin Kim of the US rallied to down German Simon Greul 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, and Croatian Ivo Karlovic defeated Indian wild card entry Prakash Amritraj 7-6 (3), 6-3.

■ Tennis
Jankovic breezes through
Top seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and third-ranked Slovak Daniela Hantuchova enjoyed contrasting opening-round victories in the Auckland Classic yesterday. World No. 12 Jankovic encountered little difficulty in disposing of German Julia Schruff 6-3, 6-4, while Hantuchova was made to struggle all the way by 17-year-old compatriot Dominika Cibulkova before winning 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Hantuchova, ranked 17th in the world and a semi-finalist in Auckland last year, suffered a second-set stutter before booking her place in the last 16.

■ Football
Cardinals dump coach
The Arizona Cardinals fired head coach Dennis Green on Monday after three losing seasons with the team. The Cardinals went 16-32 with Green at the helm, including a 5-11 record this season. Green still had a year left on his contract but the club will pay US$2.5 million to buy him out. Green's dismissal, which was confirmed on the club's Web site, came the day after Arizona ended another disappointing season with a 27-20 loss to San Diego.

■ Football
Falcons sack Mora
The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Jim Mora on Monday after two disappointing seasons in a row. Mora, 45, compiled a 26-22 regular season record during his three seasons as the Falcons' head coach. "This was an extremely difficult decision for us," Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement. "We had the highest hopes and aspirations for a long run with Jim as our coach, but we feel this decision is in the best long-term interests of our franchise." Atlanta finished a 7-9 season on Sunday with a 24-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and missed the playoffs after finishing in third place in the NFC South.

■ Basketball
Shaq may be back Jan. 15
Miami's superstar center Shaquille O'Neal is ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation from knee surgery and could return for a Jan. 15 clash with his former National Basketball Association team, the Lakers. "He's ahead of schedule," Heat coach Pat Riley said on Monday after the team's practice. "He has been on the bike and the treadmill. He has really worked to be ready and now the test is when he starts to pound up and down the court. But now, we're in the stage of `He's back. Thank you God.'" Miami have lost 15 of 26 games this season without O'Neal, who hurt the knee on Nov. 2.

■ Boxing
US boxer killed
Kemal Kolenovic, a middleweight boxer who emigrated from Montenegro to the US, was killed outside a New York bar when he was struck by a car that drove onto the sidewalk, police and witnesses said. The 28-year-old fighter was pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital, police said. Kolenovic was at a restaurant at 4am on Sunday when several other men got into an argument about their native Eastern Europe. Kolenovic followed the men outside. According to his uncle, Kolenovic was trying to placate the other men. One of the men involved in the quarrel got into a sport-utility vehicle and drove it onto the sidewalk, hitting Kolenovic, witnesses and police said. The driver then fled.

■ Hockey
Swiss win Spengler Cup
Andres Ambuhl assisted on the equalizer and then scored the winner with 11 minutes remaining to give host HC Davos a 3-2 victory over Canada on Sunday and the 80th Spengler Cup title. It was the second straight year the North Americans were denied in the title game and the 14th time Davos has won its home exhibition event, which this year also included Mora IK of Sweden, Russia's Khimik and Germany's Berlin Eisbaeren. Mario Scalzo and Jason Doig staked Canada to a 2-0 lead before Robin Leblanc scored for Davos. Ambuhl set up Eero Somervuori on a power play just over three minutes into the final period to tie the game and then scored the winner to earn man-of-the-match honors.

This story has been viewed 1506 times.